"That bastard Tsuyoi disrespected Y," one member of the Imaginarias said to the other.
"Damn right. We need to show him who the boss is around here," the other said. Most of the inmates were assigned to carpentry that day.
"But…" They averted their gaze from Tsuyoi, who was chatting and trying to get the hang of carpentry with Loco's help. "…How the hell are we supposed to do that with that lunatic around?" The lethality, legacy and legend Loco radiated were louder than the whine of the saws.
"Tsk." Another one joined the conversation. "That freak can't join the skirmishes, can he? We'll deal with Tsuyoi then."
"Dude, careful! You'll cut off your fingers!" Tsuyoi yelled in fear as he watched how careless Loco was with his saw. His fingers were this close to being chopped off by the spinning blade.
"Relax, kiddo-young-buck. These new-gen saws shut off when they touch a finger." To demonstrate, Loco slammed his finger against the saw.
It instantly stopped with a loud thud, but not because of whatever Loco had just mentioned. It broke.
"See?"
"Oh! Yeah, science!" Tsuyoi laughed.
The chatting Imaginarias watched in shock and disbelief. "Huh? Wait, does it actually–" But when one of them tried the same, the saw instantly sliced off his index finger. "AGH!" he yelled in agony as a few guards rushed to carry him out and tend to his wounds.
"Looks like they don't have it installed on every saw." Loco shrugged.
"Should I go heal him? His finger looks bad." Tsuyoi stared at the man being escorted outside.
"Why would you? He was one of the guys who harassed you yesterday." Loco took the man's freshly emptied spot, since his own saw was broken.
"Because I… can? I haven't thought that much about it. He has a wound, and I can heal it."
"Really?" Loco cackled, caught off guard by Tsuyoi's defense. "Your first instinct is to help him, huh?" he mumbled to himself.
"You should save your energy. Tomorrow is Saturday, and next week is your first skirmish." Loco walked past Tsuyoi and headed for the exit as the guards called for everyone to leave.
"Shit. The divisions are going to open up, right?" Tsuyoi caught up to him. "How does that usually go?"
"You'll be fine." Loco wiped the sawdust off his hand on a random inmate he was passing by. "The four big gangs of each division shouldn't be your biggest worry." He skipped as he walked, rhythmic and addictive to watch.
"The four big gangs? Can you tell me about them?"
"I don't want to bore you to death, so I'll cut it short. They are the most powerful gang in each division. The Bigshots, The Fourways, The Vermelhos and The Rebels. Their divisions are in that order. Vermelhos is in a truce with The Fourways of Q2, but a war between The Rebels and Vermelhos might start. Elif of the Fourways said she wouldn't enter a war for King."
"She? Are there women in this prison?" The mention of a 'she' caught Tsuyoi's attention.
"That's right. A year ago, this prison wasn't separated by gender. As you can guess, the women kept being assaulted, but some of them assaulted the men as well. When the gang leaders couldn't stop the mess, the prison finally paid attention. They moved every woman to Q2 and every man from Q2 to random divisions. Everything went back to shit when the first Saturday rolled around, though."
Tsuyoi rolled his eyes and placed his hand behind his head. "That's horrible. Those who lay a hand on women shouldn't even call themselves 'men'. That's trash behavior."
"Because you're my friend, I'll protect you at all times. But I can't help you in the skirmishes." Loco scratched his butt and smelled his fingers right afterwards.
"I'm your friend?" Tsuyoi said, the sentiment affecting him in a way he hadn't expected. "…Why me? I heard you killed every cellmate you had before."
"I knew you'd ask that. Which is only natural." Loco sighed, his voice carrying more quiet weight. "I don't go around killing people unless I need to. Everyone I have killed has done something unforgivable. Whether it be predation, murder of the innocent or sheer cruelty. I just feel so sad for people like that."
"Sad? You feel bad for them, so you kill them? I don't understand." Anyone in his position would just lick Loco's ass. Tsuyoi didn't.
"Those people are slaves of their own evil, Tsuyoi. I try to free them of it, but if they can't do that, then I free them my way. I am simply putting them out of their misery. It's better to die than to live as a slave."
"…" Tsuyoi hummed, trying to make sense of it all. "I'm sure you know more than I do, so I can't really say you're wrong. But I just think that…"
"I guess… I wanted the win for myself."
"…people can change, you know?" His smile dropped.
"I'm sure of it. But with what they were doing, they would have died either by my hands or someone else's. I just don't want them to enslave more people."
"Enslave?"
"They say if you kick a dog because he ate from your bowl, he'll kick other dogs who do the same."
Tsuyoi cackled. "I don't kick dogs, man."
"Good for you." Loco couldn't help but smile as they made it to their cell.
"Hello, Mr. Free!" Tsuyoi greeted the plant upon entering and lay down on his bed. With the groans of an old man, Loco lay down as well.
"You know…" Tsuyoi stared at the ceiling. "A tip for fighting wouldn't be bad."
"Heh, you want my help?" Loco stared at the ceiling as well.
"Yeah. I don't know how to fight, and my Treasure is way too deadly to be useful in a fight. I can't go all out with it."
"I don't know how to fight, kid." Loco rolled over, his back to Tsuyoi as he yawned. "I'm telling you, all I did was dance. If you want to get stronger, go to the gym."
"A dance?" Tsuyoi grinned. "Then teach me how to dance."
"You don't learn how to dance. You learn how–" Loco stopped himself mid-sentence. "…You know what? If you want to learn from me… then look for it in your heart. Bring out the willpower hiding within it, then I'll teach you."
"Alright. I'll just rest a bit and hit the gym. I assume you're not a gym-goer." Tsuyoi smirked, causing Loco to scoff and then laugh right afterwards. "You got some mouth."
Tsuyoi listened to his own thoughts for around half an hour, and it passed quickly. He wondered how Dante, Haisha, Kori and Pablo were doing. Yet somehow the one thing he just couldn't get out of his head was how Loco had moved the other day. Even though he had only seen a glimpse of it, something about it had captivated him.
When he felt well rested, he got up, ready to leave the cell for the gym. But before that, he moved to water Mr. Free.
"It's not his drinking time yet," Loco said.
"Huh? He told me he's thirsty." Tsuyoi raised an eyebrow.
"Did he? Eh, go ahead, then."
After watering the plant, Tsuyoi made his way to the gym. Not to train, but to meet this 'King' everybody was talking about. Every other inmate whispered to each other as he passed by, some out of fear, some out of malice. One of the people he ran into was Y, his gang behind him.
The two stopped and faced each other, causing everyone else to grow anxious and get ready for a fight. But they didn't fight. They just stared at each other very distastefully.
"Look at this doofus with his stupid haircut," they both thought.
Their gazes were filled with annoyance, the smiles they had worn now nowhere to be seen. Everyone else raised their guard, expecting anything to happen.
"Shit. Even the way he looks at me is frustrating," the two pondered.
"Bullies like him are the worst. I wish I could just punch his stupid face," Tsuyoi and Y said to themselves.
"…Fuck, I can't stand this guy at all!" They both yelled in their own heads.